


hard to be soft

by MiniNephthys



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Homestuck Kink Meme, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-04
Updated: 2011-09-04
Packaged: 2017-10-23 10:12:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/249169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNephthys/pseuds/MiniNephthys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dreambubbles are difficult.</p>
            </blockquote>





	hard to be soft

Once you're a sprite, you stay a sprite, apparently. You'd kind of thought that you'd have legs again in the dreambubbles, but it looks like you've gotten used to the wings and orange creamsicle appearance enough that this is how it's going to be.

You're hanging out. Chilling, really. You are just checking out some of the lame books John has on his dreambubble shelf, because you need some time to stop yourself from doing something incredibly stupid and sentimental. Because you're good at this, no one would possibly be able to tell that you're constantly watching John mess around in the snow outside. In all outward appearances, you are completely calm.

Inwardly, not so much.

You don't bother to hide when John comes back in, and he squeaks a bit at seeing you. "Okay, orange birdman in my house is new-" He does a doubletake. "...Dave?"

Score one for John, not even a complete sentence before he realized who you were. Hanging out with Serket and Spidermom must have helped open his blank eyes to the not-precisely-human. You raise a hand in greeting. "Hey."

"You look really, really weird." John tilts his head. "When'd you get to be a sprite? You're from my alternate future, like Vriska?"

"Not exactly. I'm your Dave." Okay, that came out a little weird, and you hasten to make it sound less like a profession of love. "After you died, there wasn't any way we could win the game, so I used my time shenanigans to keep the other you from getting yourself killed. Since I was there, I prototyped the alpha Dave's kernelsprite with myself and stuck around. Pretty simple."

"That makes sense." John fidgets a little. He's probably not used to the idea of being dead yet. "How long was I...?"

"Four months. Couldn't stand it after that." You're bordering on the sentimental things you told yourself you wouldn't say to him. You might as well break into a rousing chorus of 'how do I liiiiiiiive without you?' while you're at it. He'd like that.

"...It's really hard to think about being dead. Especially when you add in alternate timelines." He laughs a little nervously. "But I guess it wasn't that bad. I mean, you only had to go without me for four months, not forever. And then you were back in a timeline where I was alive and could bug me any time you wanted."

You stare at him until he starts fidgeting again. If you were typing, these would be the most disapproving set of ellipses you had ever typed. It would take a whole row of them to convey how stupid you thought what he just said was.

"Dave?" he asks, quietly.

At least it's still your name. Just 'Dave'. "You don't get it. It's not just four months of you being dead, then everything is roses and sunshine again. It's four months of wondering if I ever would see you again, then not believing that I actually could, then being told 'thanks for keeping me alive this time, fake Dave, see you around,' then being completely ignored while I went and worked on what Sprites did while you talked to alpha Dave, then-"

It's a little late to try and keep your cool, but you make the attempt. You pull yourself together, stop your blabbering, and even manage to stay upright when he tackles you in a hug.

"I'm so sorry," he whimpers into your shoulder, holding you close. "I never meant to do anything like that, I just wasn't thinking... I never ever wanted to hurt you or make you go through any of that! That's terrible."

You sigh. "Striders don't do things like full-body hugs, extra appendages or not," you remind him. You say this as you pull him in tighter towards you. He can figure out what you actually mean.


End file.
